BNS Section 345: Property Mark

Definition of BNS Section 345

Section 345 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023 states:

(1) A mark used for denoting that movable property belongs to a particular person is called a property mark.

(2) Whoever marks any movable property or goods or any case, package or other receptacle containing movable property or goods, or uses any case, package or other receptacle having any mark thereon, in a manner reasonably calculated to cause it to be believed that the property or goods so marked, or any property or goods contained in any such receptacle so marked, belong to a person to whom they do not belong, is said to use a false property mark.

(3) Whoever uses any false property mark shall, unless he proves that he acted without intent to defraud, be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to one year, or with fine, or with both.

Explanation and Illustration of BNS Section 345

This section is applicable to any person within the sovereign borders of India, whether citizen, resident or otherwise. It deals with the offence of fraudulently using property mark. Let us break down the section to get a better understanding of it.

• Offence

  This section has been divided into three subsections. Subsection (1) defines the meaning of property mark for the purposes of this section. Subsection (2) outlines the offence that constitutes a criminal offence under the provisions of this section and subsection (3) defines the punishment for committing such actions. Let us take a look at them one by one.
  
  Subsection (1) defines property mark as “a mark used for denoting that a movable property belongs to a particular person.” Historically, royal and aristocratic families would usually have an insignia designed to be imprinted on any property owned by them to mark their ownership and help them identify their property in matters of theft. However, a lot of people, especially people who own a lot of valuable property, follow this practice now and mark their property with their insignia. In many cases, any property bearing the insignia of a celebrity appreciates in value merely by the merit of being owned by that celebrity. So the insignia or property mark in itself is considered a high value object and, hence, counterfeiting it is considered an offence under the provisions of this section.
  
  Subsection (2) states that when a person falsely uses a mark on any
  goods or movable property
  any case, package or receptacle containing movable property
  
  in order to make it look like that item belongs to the person who usually uses that mark on his or her movable property, when in reality that person is neither aware nor has he authorised the usage of such mark on any such item, then it shall be considered an offence under the provisions of this section. In other words, counterfeiting a property mark on any item to make it look like the item belongs to someone else with the intention of committing fraud or dishonest act shall be prosecuted under this section. This part is very important, as using a false property mark without intention to commit fraud will not come under the purview of this section, but may fall under some other section depending on what the intent was behind using the false property mark. This section specifically deals with using false property mark with the intention of committing fraud.
  For instance, Z has a property mark designed to mark his valuables. X counterfeits this mark and uses it to mark certain items. Now why X used this mark on those items will decide whether the action falls under this section or some other section. If X used the mark to give it some authenticity so as to be able to sell it at a higher value than it actually possesses, then it is fraud and shall be punishable under this section. However, if X uses the mark on a stolen item in order to implicate Z for theft, then it doesn’t amount to fraud and cannot be tried under this section. However, it is still an offence and will be punishable under the respective section that covers such an action.
  Subsection (3) defines the punishment under the provisions of this section.

• Punishment

  Any person found guilty of using any false property mark with the intention of committing fraud shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to one year, or with fine, or with both.

• The above actions may not be an offence under this section if:

  • The offender is forced or coerced into performing the offence
  • The offender is a minor or not of sane mind.

• However, there may be other sections under the BNS under which the above actions can be prosecuted and while they may be disqualified under the provisions of this section, such actions will still be punishable under the provisions of those respective sections of the BNS.

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